Locket
by SugarButter
Summary: Faced with a battle between heroics classes, only two will remain standing. Randomly split into teams of two with those in your own class, he has a 5.26% chance of being paired with the boy... where had the rest of the 94.74% gone?


The colour black shrouded the word _mystery_ in the mind of Midoriya Izuku.

It stained the mind, coating his senses with a sense of giddy and passion. Mystery certainly was an aspect of being a hero, unsure of what the day might bring and which villain could be lurking around the corner. More often than not, playing the role of a detective superspy was important, as were the instincts that gripped one's gut.

Trust in your gut and trust in your partners.

So when he was paired up with Tokoyami Fumikage- _Team E, _he reminded himself- in the practice tournament his heart soared, if not for the mysterious figure he was paired with then with the excitement of spending more time with this friend.

He supposed he used _friend_ too lightly; since the Cavalry Battle, the pair had only spoken a handful of times. Though he'd always been looking to change that, he often would shy away. Tokoyami seemed to be a cool, edgy guy who certainly didn't need a nerdy boy like Izuku to be getting in the way of his hero training.

That being said, this never would stop him from perking up and waving, his freckled face twisting up into a grin whenever he would pass the raven-headed boy in the halls. Though he didn't know if the boy could give a smile back, he'd receive a tilt of the head or a nod in his direction.

So as Tokoyami took his place next to Midoriya, the latter turned towards the shrouded boy and grinned. "Well, isn't this great!" Though these words could quite easily be a double-edged sword, Tokoyami recognized the genuine nature behind those inflections.

He gave a toothy, Midoriya-style grin and the other boy could feel Dark Shadow stirring in his stomach, though pushed the feeling aside with his own words. "I do feel we have a good chance today; our quirks are well suited for one another. Though the user isn't too bad himself."

'_**Well, well, well, Fumikage. What have we here?'**_ The voice inside his mind wasn't unpleasant; he was quite used to the voice breaking into his thoughts. '_I have no idea what you mean, Dark Shadow. I am simply complimenting the boy, nothing more.'_

"So, what's the game plan?" Midoriya clapped his hands together and bent his knees, bouncing on his toes with an emotion neither could really quite place; not nervousness, but not excitement either. Almost as if the boy just needed to move. "We need to come up with a strategy, so we can hopefully move up to the next round. So let's start with looking at who we'll be against- Aoyama and Mineta?" He looked up at the projection of the battles. "They're taking this practice quite seriously, I suppose."

Tokoyami swallowed a scoff, ignoring the chatter of Dark Shadow. Midoriya was certainly right in his sense to never underestimate their opponents- battle strategy was always key. If the other pair knew what they were doing, they could be trapped within an instance.

"So we know that Mineta will likely go after us with his balls, attempting to stick us and likely hand us off to Aoyama. We cannot let those balls touch us- do you think we can count on Dark Shadow for that?" A curt nod. "Mineta can only pull so many balls before bleeding, so likely won't go over his limit- but we still must be prepared for him to give it his all. Now we know Yug- er, Aoyama cannot shoot his laser for very long periods of time, and once he shoots he doesn't maneuver around well. Our best bet is to wear him out and exploit that tummy ache. Then we can- hmm?" Aizawa was calling for the pair to come over already. Had Bakugo been that quick about it? The smoking craters they passed surely showed it.

"Shoot, sorry I took so long, you didn't even get any input to solidify the plans or anything."

"Your plan sounds near to flawless, Midoriya. There's no reason that my input would change how well it might work, so therefore I have nothing to say." Midoriya gave him a crooked grin as they braced themselves, facing their opponents. If his partner's calculations were correct, this battle would be quite easy to win- though one should never assume that a battle would be easy.

Each pair was given only one pair of handcuffs: to defeat the other team, you'd have to be strategic. Midoriya looped them around his belt and gave Tokoyami a nod and a delightful _humph!_ The way he showed he was prepared to go beyond his best.

Casting away the smugness blooming in his chest, along with a flustering pulse, he heard as Present Mic announced their battle to begin, and Dark Shadow roared out of his chest with laughter, and Midoriya geared himself up with the teal lightning surrounding his body to show his power. Aoyama's hand went to his belly to circle his navel laser, and Mineta's hands went to his scalp and began to toss his sticky balls towards the competition.

Dark Shadow swiftly batted them aside, and Midoriya's eyes lit up as the balls hit against the obstacles and stuck there. "Tokoyami, Dark Shadow- try hitting the balls towards Aoyama! They'll bounce off Mineta, but they'll stick to everything else!" So as another round of balls was thrown towards the trio, Dark Shadow swiped his claw towards the others. Balls sprayed down on Aoyama and Mineta, coating Aoyama's navel laser and countering it useless.

Instead of focusing himself on making the balls lose their stickiness, Mineta's eyes welled with tears and he turned away, crying out about not wanting to die and he just _ran._ He rammed into the invisible barrier, bouncing himself back into the ring. "Wow, I didn't even know they had those..." Midoriya mumbled, hand itching for a pencil before he looked back towards the competition.

Aoyama managed the blast the sticky ball off, though he was clutching his stomach as though it sapped a lot of energy. That didn't stop the beam from shooting out again, hitting against Dark Shadow and causing the creature to shriek. He held himself out though, wearing the other hero down even more. "_Reviens, ma cherie!" _He cried out towards Mineta, who turned back tentatively into the battle. Aoyama was on his knees, panting, though still shot out for another round. This was when Midoriya lept himself back out from the shield of shadow, and he easily tipped him over and placed a foot against his back. This was when the countdown started.

Mineta charged with his sticky balls flying again, blood now seeping down his face from the overuse of his quirk. Though he merely pivoted his foot to dodge his attack, Dark Shadow blocking the balls. Mineta cowered in his sights and Tokoyami wordlessly stepped forward and claimed his defeat.

"Team E wins the match! You've seen it here folks, the pair won the match without even _touching_ their opponents!" Present Mic announced in his overenthusiastic voice. A familiar voice cried out "Tokodeku won!" as the trio walked off the field, neither with the arrogant stride that many might hold.

Though the matches continued going, and both knew they should watch the strategy of their next opponents before making their own strategy, as knowing this would be key in their success. One of his best friends, Uraraka Ochaco, stepped up with her teammate Tsuyu Asui, "_Call me Tsu,"_ she chided in his head. On the other side was Mashirao Ojiro- Tailman!- paired with Yaoyorozu Momo, one of the students who'd gotten in on recommendations. It did seem to be quite the match, and seemed to be an entertaining one to watch.

As the match started, Tsuyu and Ochaco gave a high five as Ojiro came charging after the pair. Right off the bat the frog jumped into action; dodging the tail and staying where she'd gotten. Her tongue sprung out and grabbed Ochaco, though her foot still got the brunt of his swing, and she hissed through her teeth.

Ochaco maneuvered herself through the air, tapping Ojiro playfully on the head. "Tag, you're it!" He went floating upwards, arms sprawling to attempt and get his balance. She giggled and put her fingers together. "Release!" Within a second all four feet were touching the floor, but Ojiro was quickly sent flying upwards again.

Yaoyorozu had created herself a long metal rod, but Tsuyu ripped it from her grasp with her tongue. Ochaco tapped it lightly and proceeded to float it upwards to hang around with Ojiro, who looked defeated already.

The anti-gravity girl bounced her way over to Yaoyorozu, grinning and giving her arm a tap. Though before she could begin to float her up with her partner, her eyes widened as she heard a _crack_ and fell forward.

Ojiro had gotten a hold on the bar, and was now dragging the bar through the air. He struggled, though his strain slackened slightly as she lost her focus. Momo used this time to tighten the handcuff over her wrists, chalking her out of the game. "Here's our first hero out for today- Uravity is out for the rest of the match! She can no longer use her quirk, but the handcuffs don't cancel out what quirk she has used! It's merely a detecting device- that means that Ojiro is stuck up there for the rest of the battle.

Both Mashirao and Yaoyorozu's eyes widened. That certainly hadn't been the plan, though they turned to Tsuyu. It was still two to one.

Though Uraraka's focus certainly was trained on keeping the former at bay, air treating him as if cement was encasing his ligaments. He struggled in an attempt to swing his tail down, but his movements were as if he were in a slow motion movie clip. Tsuyu just giggled and hopped out of the way.

Momo had now crafted herself a shield, wielding it as if a weapon and charging towards the frog. The flexible girl used her long tongue, wrapping it around the iron bar in Ojiro's grip and flipping herself over Momo's head and landing on her back. She now used her tongue to encase her arms and back, kicking the shield from her grasp with a hand in her hair.

"She's riding that girl as if she's an ass, this is great! Count it out with me folks- ten! Nine! Eight!" Midoriya now looked to his partner, eyes wide. "Has he been commentating this entire time? I didn't even hear him..." Tokoyami merely nodded, eyes still trained on the fight. The match ended and Ochaco now released Ojiro, breathing heavily with a smile spread across her face. "Team H has won the battle, and now moves on!" Parents and students cheered.

This training wasn't nearly as large as the UA Sports Festival- nothing was as large as the UA Sports Festival, he reminded himself with a laugh- but parents were invited to watch their children in combat. Izuku's own mother was in the spectator stands, cheering on for everyone to do their best- when Izuku himself wasn't on the field, of course.

Students in other study courses also enjoyed spectating, many students even skipping their classes in years previous to watch. Peering into the crowds now, he could see many of their teachers. This showed that they had given the kids what they wanted- free reign to watch the battles. Though unable to compete in the hero course training, other course students still enjoyed watching their fellow students.

Ochaco and Tsuyu were the first to get to the hero bleacher, situated in front of the building, temporarily used for prepping and a nurses office. Asui took a seat in front of the fellow greenette, though Ochaco merely sat next to her best friend. "So I guess this means we'll be against each other- fated rivals, haha! I'll try my best to beat you, Deku!" She gave his arm a friendly punch, while Tsuyu turned her head- without turning her neck, earning a blink from Tokoyami- and gave a smile. "Good luck Deku, Tokoyami-kun! May the best pair win."

"Thank you, Asui, Ochaco, you guys too!" Deku gave his signature grin, though only got narrowed eyes from Tsuyu. "Call me Tsu, Deku." He laughed. "Alright, Call Me Tsu, good luck to you too!" Both girls rolled their eyes at the freckled boy, whose cheeks dimpled with a smile.

"I feel honoured to be against two talented heroes-to-be, such as yourselves. Best of luck to you two ladies as well, and may you two be blessed by All Might's power himself." Despite the formal words, Dark Shadow popped out with a cackle. "**Fumichan means to say that-"** The quirk was silenced when being forced back into the body of his holder, shaking his head in surprise and disappointment. '_Please, we were having a normal conversation for once, Dark Shadow.'_

'_**Please, Fumikage! You were only embarrassing yourself- let me be your wingman for once!' **_'_Silence, Dark Shadow.' _'_**Izuku is staring.' **_'_Be polite, it's Midoriya.'_

"Ah, I'm sorry about him... he tends to get quite excitable." Midoriya's smile wavered and he blinked before bringing it back. "No worries!" Ochaco butted in between the two. "Have fun strategizing!"

Midoriya dragged the other teenager into the preparatory building, bringing him to a couch. "This time we need to give ourselves more time. I'm guessing they are figuring that we'll use Dark Shadow for defense... They have the means to get over the barrier he gives and to attack from both sides, as well as the ability to immobilize one of us. Thinking ahead, they'll likely move to immobilize me- uh, no offense- while trying to handcuff you, as they'll want Dark Shadow out of the way as soon as possible. So this round, I say we should go more offensive. Tsuyu could throw her stomach at us... I doubt it, scratch that. But Uraraka is the most dangerous, as she can make anything into a weapon. Though as long as she's kept at a distance from you, you and Dark Shadow should be fine. So I would say that I focus on Ochaco, and you focus on Tsuyu. Her quirk relies of being quite close- except her tongue, but if she gets around you, Dark Shadow can still work." Midoriya caught himself from his bantering of words and strategies, and looked to Tokoyami.

"I completely agree- Ochaco is more dangerous at long range, and Tsuyu is more so at a closer range. You're definitely stronger in a close range than me, but Dark Shadow is a more reliable long-range quirk." Midoriya gave a nod. "I assume that Asui has the handcuffs in her stomach, as she had when she and I were doing our finals."

"It's also possible that Ochaco has them- she likely could use her quirk to slide them on discreetly, without even touching her opponents." Midoriya's logic made more sense, and Tokoyami made sure he knew that before continuing his own words. "Though I do worry about Uraraka getting her hands on you. I don't know how well I will do with you out of the ring. Though Dark Shadow can still work if I've been rendered helpless, so despite your points on the matched quirks, I do think I'm better suited against Ochaco. Not to doubt your abilities, but if you'd rather go the safer route..."

"I didn't even consider that! I honestly agree, as I have yet to figure a way to use my quirk long range. I'd be useless once she got me." Present Mic was announcing the first rounds over, which gave them limited time. Bakugo wouldn't play nice- if they won this round, he'd be their problem next.

"But of course, if things start to go south then we should definitely take a more defensive route and try to whip up a new strategy- we don't have time to plan another one, I can hear Kacchan blowing away his rivals." He sighed as he heard the announcement of Bakugo's team- _Team B-_ moving on to the next round.

As they were ushered onto another battlefield, the two looked across the way to find Tsuyu with a smile and Ochaco stanced to race forward, cracking her neck. Midoriya bent his knees and poised himself on his toes as Tokoyami merely crossed his arms across his chest. Within seconds a horn had gone off- had that horn always been there?- and the green-haired boy had a split second reaction to jump upwards. This was the best decision, as he hadn't seen Uraraka racing towards him with her hand out. Just one touch was all she needed.

His green hair floated in space as time slowed down- he took in the battlefield. Dark Shadow was encasing his teammate as Tsuyu's tongue tried to wrap around him- he merely sidestepped and batted the muscle away. Ochaco blinked and was peering around herself, but suddenly a pair of handcuffs caught his eye. They were already floating behind the girl, confirmed by the bead of sweat that dripped down the side of her face. Her quirk could be quite tiresome.

Time stopped stalling and he landed to the ground, landing easily to the ground and his bracing hand causing ripples through the dirt. This tripped up both Ochaco and Asui, but before he could confirm a success he watched as his partner also lose his balance, hardly staying upright. Dark Shadow shrieked angry yandere noises as Midoriya mentally swore.

"Shi- sorry!" He called out as he stood upright himself, tuning out Present Mic's words on him. He offered his hand to Ochaco, who'd fallen on her bum- realizing too late that this was a mistake.

"Uraraka, he's being a gentleman. Though he should remember that he's _in a fight,_ his heart knows it's practice. It's cheap to use that against him." The frog's words caused a slight frown to spread across Uraraka's face, but she nodded. "Guys, let's just start over, okay? We start... now!"

Present Mic rambled on in confused at this quick exchange from the teenagers, but Tsuyu's tongue was too quick and furious for Midoriya or Tokoyami to listen in. The tongue shot in the direction of the raven-headed boy, but the freckled one easily caught her tongue in his grasp. "_Ribbit."_ Careful not to hurt the girl, he pulled the muscle taunt. Her eyes widened as her hands instinctively went to her throat, but he circled her and released her tongue, wiping his hand on his pants and shoving her to her knees. She hung her head, defeating- she knew if she tried to fight she would only be beaten again, and didn't want to put Midoriya in that spot.

So there came another countdown- until it was stopped. "Team E wins the match, and moves onto Semifinals, alongside Team B! There are still three more spots available for the taking, folks!" Present Mic continued his ramblings as the Izuku looked over towards Tokoyami- he'd gotten the handcuffs around the pink-suited girl. He grinned widely as he helped Asui to her feet. "I hope I didn't hurt you too badly there, heh. But you two put up a good fight!" Midoriya's smile was contagious for the losing team as well, who now adorned soft smiles towards the boy.

Tokoyami's eyes were trained towards those plush lips; teeth peeked through behind the peach-coloured lips, crooked and endearing. The sun seemed to shine directly off his face, as when his smile came to his face, his eyes lit up like a light switch had been flipped. His large, green eyes stared at his partner as he led him out by the wrist.

"We did so well, Tokoyami-kun! We make a really good team. You did great, getting Ochaco with the handcuffs. Gosh, we actually have a fighting chance!" Tokoyami couldn't deny his attraction towards that positive attitude he always wore, along with his heart on his sleeve. If he felt something for someone, he seemed to be the type to let someone know if they were important to him.

Despite Tokoyami- and likely Midoriya- knowing that they'd have a problem beating Bakugo, he was tempted to follow the happy-go-lucky words. '_**You clearly feel something for Izuku, Fumichan! I can feel your emotions, y'know. You can't lie to me."**_ Tokoyami dismissed the voice in his head, instead turning to the greenette in question. "I do believe that we have lunch before the semifinals... would you like to eat in the cafeteria with me?" Izuku gave a large smile. "Of course! But hey, my mom's here so I'm gonna be seeing her first. Do you wanna meet her?" Tokoyami was silently pondering this, and Midoriya backtracked. "I-I mean, you don't have to! I just thought I would-"

"That sounds wonderful, and I am honoured to be allowed to meet your mother." The raven-headed boy interrupted his beginnings of the rambling. The other boy stopped his talking abruptly and smiled wider, grabbing his wrist again to lead him towards the stands.

Tokoyami's wrist tingled and burned where the freckled hand was gripping the skin, feathers slightly poofing around his mouth in embarrassment. Tokoyami followed along diligently, soon finding a woman among the crowd whose hair hued the same colour as her young son's. "Izuku!" She came rushing towards the pair, enveloping her son in a hug. "Gosh, I am so proud of you!" She buried her face in his poofy curls, inhaling her son's scent. She missed the boy's presence, and his scent was slowly fading from the house.

When she finally pulled her son away, keeping an arm around him, she looked towards Tokoyami. "Wow, you must be Tokoyami! You've got quite the quirk on you, and you handle it amazingly." She gave a sweet smile, but it couldn't compare to Izuku's more flustered one in the grasp of his mother. "Izuku certainly talks a lot about you."

The boy's sleek head tilted at that, but unfortunately the woman said nothing more to elaborate. Midoriya looked as if he wanted to melt into his mother's grasp and die, his face beaming a bright tomato red. "Quite a compliment, coming from such a hero." He bowed deeply towards his aquaintence's mother, unable to smile on the outside but his soul was beaming.

'_**Haha, Stinky-kage, he likes you too! Zuzu likes you too!' **_Tokoyami blinked in surprise at the invasive thought, before he zeroed in on a particular word. '_Zuzu, really Dark Shadow? You couldn't be respectful, not for once? Such a childish entity...'_ A laugh filled his mind, and he shook head. '_Silence, you beast.'_

He looked up to see the two worriedly facing the boy. "Ah, I apologize. I had a certain... beast speaking to me." Midoriya blinked before nodding in understanding- he supposed the only reason he didn't push on was due to his mother's presence. Though his mouth had opened, question on the tip of his tongue and his fingers itched for a pencil. "No worries, sweetheart! I was just asking if the cafeteria was open to all- though if not, I'll see you boys after your match. I guess you two _should_ spend lunch strategizing, anyways." Midoriya nodded towards his mother.

"I agree. We must take all the time we can, as Bakugo certainly is a worthy opponent. Not that the other's weren't, but this is the semifinals..." Tokoyami's usual confidence in his words fell short with this woman. He felt himself scrambling under the gaze of those eyes, who stared ruthlessly and judged despite all. Her eyes felt to be pounding into his skull, reading every thought. These eyes weren't shared with her son; unfamiliar and cold.

Gentle, cool fingers locked with his own and he looked down to find the green-haired boy had taken his hand, rubbing circles against the back of his palm. He felt the stirring in his chest- he finally identified these fears belonged more to Dark Shadow than they did to himself- calm down and settle in his stomach.

Inko Midoriya didn't seem to notice anything amiss, though her eyes locked on their intertwined hands for a long heartbeat. Midoriya gave a few parting words and another hug, though he never let go of the bird boy's hand.

His face was pink, his reddened ears standing out in his green hair. Despite his embarrassment, he led the boy by the hand into the cafeteria, for once seemingly comfortable in silence.

Or at least, more comfortable than any sort of conversing.

Tokoyami slid his eyes down to study their conjoined hands, Midoriya's soft, freckled hands warm to the touch, fitting within his own like a puzzle piece, a tight and snug fit. His fingers twitched slightly within his grasp, causing the other to sharply look up.

"Let's be real here..." Midoriya's voice broke the silence, cutting it as if butter, smoothly and nicely. "We likely won't win Kacchan with pure strength alone. I mean, his explosions are tough against Dark Shadow, and we can't gun on him coming for me... unless..." The pair had now made it into the cafeteria line as his round of mumbling began, causing Tokoyami's heart to squeeze- and he doubted Dark Shadow was the only thing causing this. But he happened to notice the angry student's shouts- the one in question, no doubt- from a nearby hallway and clamped a hand over his mouth, cutting his words off with a halt.

With his fingers over those soft lips, he shouldn't have been feeling much else than disgust. They were slightly dry, as the air was beginning to become crisp, but they stayed quite plush. '_**Focus on those lips, Fumichan! You'll never get another chance.'**_ He mentally swatted away the beast, but was suddenly aware of how wet his hand suddenly was. Did Midoriya begin to drool? Did he like the way his hand felt _that much-_

With a yelp he drew his hand back, finding Midoriya's tongue hanging out of his mouth with a soft _bleh_, much in the style of Tsuyu. He put his other hand to his beak, both in shock and in an attempt to stop any laughter. '_**He's quite a hoot! Don't let him go, Fumichan, I like him. He's kinky.'**_ Tokoyami's eyes widened. '_Stop at once, you beast.' _'_**I'm saying what you won't think.'**_

Midoriya gave him a goofy grin before turning around, telling the lunch lady what he wanted from behind the counter. Fumikage was soon able to order as well, making sure to get extra apples on his tray, getting both a bowl full of an assortment of cut fruits, and later down the line he inspected and picked out a juicy green apple before joining Midoriya at the drink station.

They quickly got seated at an empty table as the cafeteria continued filling up, sitting in silence as they ate their food. "Don't eat too quickly, Midoriya." After the bird's words, he slowed his pace, cheeks glowing a bright pink as he mumbled an apology. "Don't apologize to me, apologize to your body." Midoriya gave a choking laugh as he covered his mouth, mumbling out another apology.

"Goodness Midoriya, I can't work with you if all you say if 'I'm sorry!'" He cried out jokingly, a hint of a smile apparent. The green-haired boy in question began choking, thumping a hand against his chest.

Though the joking demeanor died as that hair was roughly grabbed by another.

"I don't know what you're laughing at, _Deku._" Midoriya could tell it was Bakugo from that tone alone. "But you aren't gonna beat me!" He slammed his face into his tray, shattering the ceramic bowl that held a piping hot soup, and Tokoyami didn't know which of the two caused him to shout out.

The boy was at his side within a second, gently helping him lift his head to find the sheer amount of blood that was already on his hands. "Damb you, Kabban!" Midoriya called out after the blood, voice nasally without the use of his nose.

Another round of shattering glass, and Iida was there. "Blood?!" He looked to Tokoyami- who was wrapping one of Deku's arms around his neck, the other used to balance him as the greenette touched his nose cautiously- and he filled him in with a few curt words.

Uraraka was quickly there as well, using her quirk to levitate her own plate so her hands weren't full. "Oh, Deku..." The girl gave him a light tap on the shoulder, lightening the boy's weight so Tokoyami wouldn't struggle. "Gbuys, I'b fibe. I'b a bib boy, I cab hanble a bittle bloob." The trio understood his words, but pushed them off. "You can't fight with a broken nose, Deku. We're your friends, we'll take care of you! Trust us." Ochaco grinned sympathetically as she spoke, quickly bringing up the rear. The teenagers found Recovery Girl close by, in a 'Staff Only' room.

Iida barged through the door, loudly announcing his presence. "We have an injured student and we request your help immediately." His hand moved emphatically with his speech, drawing the attention away from the door cracking open to Midoriya, blood now seeping past his hand and dripping off his fingers.

Though Mr. Aizawa certainly saw the boy's state and easily stood up, concerned for the welfare of his student as a worried look crossed his face. Tokoyami quickly filled the teacher in as well. "Bakugo smashed his face- disqualified!" Present Mic pointed towards the students as he announced this, but Midoriya's eyes widened. "Bo! He'b habe be anb- I cab't buckib beak!" He groaned out loud, grabbing at his temples.

"Well, he's about to go out and fight, so I don't want to use up his energy- I'll just have to wrap it for now." Recovery Girl told the group. "You'll have to deal with the slurred speech until afterwards, but you can still participate. Hold on for a moment." She flashed a light into his eyes suddenly. "No sign of head trauma, so we're safe to send him out. Just be careful, alright?"

He nodded, blood flinging off his face and he ceased the movement. Recovery Girl chuckled, pulling a medical bag seemingly out of nowhere, pulling out a pair of nonlatex gloves and snapping them on and turning his head from side to side. "This is gonna hurt."

A loud cry could be heard from the staff-only room, followed only by the sound of choking on blood.

* * *

Without Mirodiya's ability to speak coherent words, he relied heavily on Tokoyami's ability to plan- though Tokoyami certainly had no faith in himself. It was decided that Bakugo wasn't disqualified, as Midoriya was still physically able to fight- however, he himself was handcuffed from the beginning, unable to use his own quirk, putting their team at a disadvantage. "_Though this is training," they had said, "this is still a competition and that was quite unsportsman-like. Midoriya is on your team in the real world- you'd never have a reason to hurt one of your own."_

"_So therefore, your team would be down a quirk... handicapped... that player will be you!" _

The green-haired boy felt mortified- he hadn't meant for it to escalate this far. He lightly touched the bandages holding his nose together, remembering the dire consequences it could have later. But he pushed that aside as the countdown began. The bleachers were now quite crowded, people situating for the round of semifinals. This was where the best of the best were- in their mindset, at least- and many people likely decided not to come by sooner. A smile gleamed out in the stands, his mother putting her thumbs up in reassurance.

On Present Mic's beginning of the battle, Midoriya was quick to hop into action. As expected, Bakugo was headed straight for himself. "Hah, cobe fighb be, Kabban!" The green-haired boy taunted, calling One-For-All to his legs, easily leaping over the explosive boy. His eyes became fire, quickly pivoting on his toe and taking a dramatic step forward.

Warning explosions began shooting from his palms, but before anybody could do anything, volts of electricity ripped through his body. "_What the hell?!"_

"There we have it folks, the first showcase of violating the handcuffs! Volts of electricity are administered to the body- approved by the participants' parents, naturally- to simulate the punishment of a prisoner going against the orders of their captor." Present Mic's bubbly voice announced into the microphone loudly, giving one of his dramatic poses. All four contestants had paused to listen, staring at the booth in shock. Tokoyami was the first to come back to the battle, Dark Shadow easily covering his body. "Black Abyss!"

He was up against Hakugare, who'd opted to go fully in the nude in a sneak attack. Despite Dark Shadow's ability to sense another's soul- something that came along with being intertwined with a soul, the two figured- this would still be a difficult fight. Tokoyami was entirely blind, nothing but a vessel for his quirk in this fight. "**Behind you!"**

He nodded, pivoting and shooting an arm out, hand grasping something fleshy and soft- presumably her arm. "T-Tokoyami!" She cried out uncomfortably, before giving context. "_That's my boob!"_

His eyes widened as he heard this, quickly releasing his grip. "That was misguided of me, though perhaps it would benefit to wearing some form of _clothes."_ Never had there been so much venom in a phrases between the two classmates, and- though unseen- she blinked and backed up.

He felt dirty, but attempted to push that aside but afraid to make anymore moves against the girl. He looked so guilty, so judgemental against himself in the way his hands stilled alone. She let out a sigh. "It's not your fault... I'm sorry, if this was a real battle I wouldn't have the comfort of such a... courteous classmate. Don't worry about touching me inappropriately- without the intent, it really isn't inappropriate." He nodded, but was clearly still troubled.

Despite this, he shook the guilt from his head and crouched, on his toes and ready to jump into action, allowing Dark Shadow full control over his body, now merely a voice in the mind.

On the other side of the field was Bakugo and Midoriya, with the two in a sort of chase. Bakugo wasn't much of a problem if he merely avoided any contact with the blonde. He kept the pair of handcuffs in his hand, fingers rubbing against the material.

The battle stayed in a sort of stalemate, with Tokoyami avoiding the more offensive girl as the two boys danced. Bakugo was crouched, like a tiger waiting in the woods for his prey- those in the stands had no way of seeing the determined student working off his handcuffs. "**Zuzu!" **Dark Shadow cried out, turning his head and gesturing to the air- hands interlocked in a battle, he soon realized. So easily using the couched teen as a ramp, he launched himself through the air. His arms and legs were out in front of his, to brace his fall if he'd miscalculated the entirety of the guesswork. He'd been just short, as a cry in his ear let him know. A hand was on his knee, another pulling at his hair. She'd become desperate- she didn't have much going for her without her invisibility, and with hands on the boy, he had a clear direction of where she was. He grabbed where a wrist would be, closing his hand around a solid piece of air. Her arm. His hair was ripped out as he pulled up, but he latched the handcuffs around the wrist he was holding, getting the second one on soon after and hearing the sound of many people cheering. He couldn't help but feel that Bakugo's team was nearly cheated... but then his face throbbed and he decided they deserved it.

"And that concludes our first match of the semifinals! Team... TokoDeku has advanced to the finals!" Cheers arose from the stands, a few boos mixed in- to be expected with a crowd this large. Especially with the clear disadvantage Team B had started with.

"However, this isn't the last match we will see Team B in! They'll be up against Team O later on, to see if that team will move on or not. Stay tuned to watch that!" So, this was being broadcasted? Man, it certainly was a bigger event than the first years had been expecting. Many of them hadn't ever heard of this, so perhaps it gained popularity by the Class 1-A.

Looking out into the stands, the students noticed many people- none of which were particularly memorable or familiar- with signs cheering on different students, most of them from Class 1-A. Midoriya certainly had quite a bit of support, Tokoyami noted, but he himself had close to nothing. He spotted one kid hopping around with a small, decorated piece of printer paper. He inwardly smiled, turning to his smiley partner.

Speaking of which, the boy seemed to have a wider smile than usual. Most might not have noticed this, but his freckled cheeks dimpled deeper than typical, eyes shining beneath his lids, nearly half closed due to his grin. His nose crinkled, causing a crinkling of the bandages, and his smaller hands reached out to grab his own.

**(Yo, I hate to add these in and such but I know how annoying it can be to attempt to translate what he's saying- especially with so much conversation here- so typed in isn't necessarily what he says, but is the translation of Fumikage.)**

"Gosh, we're in the finals! You did _so good, _I'm so lucky to have you on my team! We kinda make a really good team, dontcha think?" One hand drew away to push a lock of his beautiful forest of hair behind his ear, smile slowly shrinking as he grew sheepish. "Indeed, I believe we make quite a magnificent team. On the contrary, I do believe that _I_ should feel blessed to have the prosperity of being on your team." Midoriya's smile widened again as he blushed and his eyes shined with unshed tears. "You have a way with words that makes me feel like I'll cry every time you open your mouth- in the good way! Like, you're too beat..?" He trailed off awkwardly. He most certainly did _not_ have a way with words, even without his broken nose.

"Though my words only come out as your mere presence flusters my very soul..." Tokoyami snapped his beak shut. '_**Flirting now, Fumikage? Smooth...'**_ He mentally shoved the beast, but Midoriya didn't seem to notice his absence in the conversation, and instead was too busy fanning his tomato of a face. "Heh..."

"I apologize, that context may come out... not so fitting for our relationship." '_**Dude, that's even worse, hah!'**_ '_Am I really that bad?' _His only reply was a hearty laugh within his mind. '_Shut your beak, you vampish beast.'_

'_**So harsh...'**_ He blinked and looked back to Midoriya, whose face was angled away from his own. He spoke in a low tone, smoothing down his ruffled feathers. "I suppose it would be beneficial for us to watch our future opponents." Midoriya nodded silently, not looking towards the dark student. '_Gosh, he hates us now.' _'_**He hates **_**you.** _**I'm sure he's still utterly in love with me.'**_ "Hmph."

That was aloud, he knew, once the greenette stopped and slowly turned towards him. "Did I... lose something?" He tilted his head, looking at the floor around their feet. "I see nothing dropped from your pockets."

"Doooooo, not lose. Gosh, I hate this blows." Nose, he decided. Unless Midoirya was just that bad with grammar, but he doubted that. "Ah." Silence followed that sound, and Midoriya just rocked on his feet, looking towards his fellow male.

"I'm sorry... I always mess up. I hope we can.. still be friends?" Tokoyami sighed. Had a single noise given him that impression? "I never thought anything less, Midoriya. You did nothing wrong, don't let yourself believe something so futile, so untrue." '_**You **_**are** _**flirting, Fumikage. Go get 'em, tiger! Hey hey hey, tell him how much you like his-'**_ '_Shut that little beak of yours before I do it myself,' _he mentally hissed, wishing he could swat towards the beast within.

Though he'd heard that word quite a bit from the shadow- flirting? He'd hardly acknowledge his true feelings towards the bubbly boy, let alone allow himself to _flirt._ But thinking back, those comments...

This boy was forcing him to lose his composure.

* * *

By the time the finals rolled around, the sky was vibrantly glowing pink and dark blue, the moon shining brightly as the sun settled beneath the horizon. The area had no lighting, giving both players a disadvantage as well as lessened the entertainment value. But with one look at the contestants, they decided it wasn't smart to host such an event with the likelihood of Dark Shadow roaring to life.

Tokoyami felt his feathers fluff out, as he knew it was his own fault for the delay. "Bright and early tomorrow morning, folks- er, bright and late tomorrow afternoon, we will watch these three teams compete for the top spot in a battle to the _deathhhhh!_ Which is to say, until their other opponents are either knocked unconscious, or unable to move. There are no handcuffs in the finals!" With that, everybody was excused to go back to their dorms, many students grumbling about how unfair their own matches were.

Midoriya shared a look with Tokoyami, they both had the same thought. _There's no way this can end well._

* * *

_**And that's a wrap!**_

**Okay, not really. I'm planning to make this into a two-shot, second half will be out eventually. I don't have a date for it planned or anything. Hope you all enjoyed!**

**I've got so many ideas, tons of them goofy little ficlets. **

**Let me know if you're interested! :) **

**Tokoyami is my bird boi and I love him. He and Deku are perfect.**

**See you all in a bit with the second part of this fanfic! **


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